Hallowed Be Thy Name
by Sarcastic Avenger
Summary: When you know that your time is close at hand, maybe then you too will understand life down there is a strange illusion. A first person fic of Sasuke's final hours on earth before he meets his end.


**Hallowed Be Thy Name**

**AN:** I do not own the Naruto franchise nor do I own the song "Hallowed Be Thy Name". You'll have to talk to Steve Harris about that one. I recommend listening to the song if you can, since the atmospherics it provides are electrifying. Any of the myriad of covers of this song would work as well, though I recommend either the original, by Iron Maiden, or Cradle of Filth's cover.

* * *

Looking back on those years, all I can remember is sadness and pain. All of my memories from before that bastard I once thought was my brother have all seemed to fade to gray. I was always Uchiha Sasuke, the Uchiha whelp who lived. It haunted my very existence every day of my life. Time does not heal all wounds, though now I can finally have some small measure of peace. 

In truth, I miss my friends from life before. No matter how much I said that they were annoying or foolish, I'd much rather have spent more time with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. Oh, Naruto, that poor dobe gave his all to try to save me from myself. It nearly cost him everything in my last days on Earth.

Isn't it ironic that it wasn't until the very end that I finally realized how much pain I had caused them? They didn't deserve any of it. In truth, I was no better than man I set out to kill. If only I had listened to Kakashi that fateful day in Konoha. I should have trusted my sensei and friend. He told me the bitter, cold truth: killing Itachi would neither bring my family back nor bring me any peace.

But my folly is being paid back to me. In truth, the only pain of being here is the fact that I'm isolated from all of my friends, and will be until the day they die. But everyone eventually comes to rest here in Elysium. Let me tell you of my travel to here. I forget how many Earth years it was that I was released from my mortal shackles, but it is somewhere around the neighborhood of ten or eleven years ago that I found myself faced with an end I could not escape. I was so full of anger then, I'm ashamed of myself…

* * *

**I'm waiting in my cold cell, when the bell begins to chime**

**Reflecting on my past life and it doesn't have much time**

**'Cause at 5 o'clock they take me to the Gallows pole**

**The sands of time for me are running low**

I just sat there, alone, waiting for the end. I had finally done the deed. I'd killed that bastard for all that he did to me, and my family. But I had found no peace from finally putting an end to his miserable life. And the blood of all those innocent people I killed under Orochimaru's service.,.. Killing Itachi had not washed away their deaths.

"_And now I find myself in the compan__y of the people I abandoned,_" I thought to myself as I languished the last day in my cell. "_Now they want to put me to death for doing what I needed to do. I gave __Itachi__ what he deserved, and now this. I didn't l__eave Konoha, Konoha left me!_"

Oh, if my angered could have been given form, it would have been a poison potent enough to slaughter the whole world. Every face I ran through my mind I wished pain and suffering upon. I went right down the list of everyone I knew, until I finally reached that dead-last Naruto. But no matter how I tried, I could not bring myself to wish him ill. I don't know what it was that stopped me. Perhaps I had already exhausted all of my hate. But my guess is that it is a bit more complicated than that.

I lingered on the memories of my youth, and the time spent with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi, wondering how I could make sense of it. No matter how hard I tried, I could not truly sever those bonds. They had tried everything in their power to convince the Elder Council to reconsider my case, but it was all no avail. Even after all I did to them; they risked disgrace to save my worthless, miserable life.

But suddenly the most awful sound I could imagine rang through the prison. The iron bars of cell block door creaked open. It was the most terrible noise, as if the rusty mouth of hell itself had opened up to swallow me whole.

**When the priest comes to read me the last rites**

**Take a look through the bars at the last sight,**

**Of a world that has gone very wrong for me**

For the first time in my life, I looked at the sky and the trees of Konoha, and really appreciated them for what they are worth. It's a pity that it happened at the end, for they were quite beautiful. But soon I would be leaving this world. The jailer and his entourage were soon at my cell. I stared at them with cold, hate-filled eyes. But my tenketsu had all been sealed, so there would be no escape. I had no ability to resist. I could only obey.

Strangely, Tsunade-sama accompanied the jailor, the ANBU guards and the Buddhist monk to my cell. Never in my whole life had I seen her this upset. The monk approached me and offered to prepare me for my passage to the afterlife. I still don't know why, but I accepted his counsel. We meditated in the cell for a short while under the watchful eyes of the ANBU.

**Can it be that there's some sort of error?**

**Hard to stop the surmounting terror**

**Is it really the end, not some crazy dream?**

I found no peace from the mediation. Thoughts rushed through my head at the speed of light. I desperately asked myself if this was just some strange Genjutsu. Strangely, I entertained this thought. "_Get a grip, Sasuke,_" I mentally scremed, "_you've just been trapped in a strange Genjutsu technique. Soon it will all be over. N__aruto and Sakura will __disp__--_"

Strangely, my thoughts returned to them. Oh how I wished the last three years had been all just an illusion. I wished I could wake up, and return to the way things were before I left Konoha. For a moment, I wished I could sponge away the last three years. But alas, this is reality.

**Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming,**

**It's not easy to stop from screaming,**

**The words escape me when I try to speak.**

**Tears they flow but why am I crying**

**After all I'm not afraid of dying.**

**Don't I believe that there never is an end**

I screamed "Wake up!" to myself. But it was all to no avail. I could stop from panicking now. I had been so resolute and so defiant in my convictions. Where had all that gone? I tried to offer one last apology to everyone present, hoping that they could pass it on to the one's I cared about the most. But the my mouth wouldn't move when I commanded it.

I sat there in the Lotus position, entranced by my fate. I opened my eyes, and looked Tsunade-sama straight in the eyes. Silent tears began to flow, as my mouth hangs open, flapping noiselessly. There was so much I wanted to say to the Hokage, but the words wouldn't come. The tears slowed, and finally stopped, and I pulled all of my determination to steel myself for my fate.

"It's time," Tsunade-sama muttered. It was clear she took no pleasure in this duty. The ANBU guards, hidden behind their animal masks, advanced and took me by the arms. They pulled me to my feet. Even to this day, I still cannot remember what their masks looked like, or what the monk said to me, but I can tell you exactly what Tsunade did and said. Even now, I still could not bring myself to apologize.

**As the guards march me out to the courtyard**

**Somebody cries from a cell "God be with you"**

**If there's a God then why has he let me die?**

Then, I could not understand why Kami-sama had let this all befall me. It's easy from hindsight to understand that Kami-sama had nothing to do with this said little mortal affair of revenge and punishment, but back then I was terrified by this problem. The man who called out to me from the cell next to mine was about forty, with graying hair and a wrinkled, weathered face. I wondered to myself what brought him here, or what motivated him to show compassion to me, a traitor and criminal. He was most likely just a garden variety criminal. Looking back, I understand how precious compassion and humanity are, but then, my heart was so blackened I could not even understand a small gesture of solidarity.

**As I walk all my life drifts before me**

**Though the end is near I'm not sorry,**

**Catch my soul, it's willing to fly away**

"_Everything I did was justified,_" I told myself. "_I can't be sorry for anything. If I am, then my whole life was a lie. That cannot be true. __Itachi__ deserved what he got. I had to do everything in my power to kill him, even if it meant betrayal._"

Oh how good it sounded then, and how bad it sounded now. But still I was plagued by doubt. But still I forced myself to maintain a defiant air as we exited the prison, and headed towards the gallows. My execution would be public.

Still, my thoughts kept bouncing back to those few months of relative happiness I had with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. I finally remembered how much I cared about them. I had forced myself to forget these three long years. But in truth, I loved them all. As the ANBU led me up to the platform of the gallows, if I could have had any one wish at that point, I would have wished for just one more day with them. Just one more, and maybe I could die in peace. As I stared the executioner in her hooded face, I finally realized that killing Itachi could never have brought me peace.

**Mark my words believe my soul lives on**

**Don't worry now that I have gone**

**I've gone beyond to seek the truth**

"It'll all be over soon," I muttered to myself. The executioner nodded empathetically. Even through the hood I could tell she didn't really want to do this. Strange that I've gotten more genuine sympathy as a traitor and enemy of the state on my execution day then I had ever gotten before.

Tsunade gently placed her hand on my shoulder, and whispered, "If you have any last words, now is the time."

I stood there in my shackles, and pondered a moment, and finally, I decided that I would leave this world the right way. I cleared my throat, and searched through the throng of people gathered around the gallows, searching for a familiar spiky haired blond and pink haired kunoichi. I finally found them, standing together on a rooftop way on the edge of the clearing. They were dressed in full ninja garb. "_Are they planning something?_" I wondered.

I cleared my throat, and shouted out to the crowd as loud as I could, "Naruto! Sakura! If you can hear me, I want to tell you I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! You've suffered far too much because of me! Don't worry about me! Please let me go, and live on for my sake! Tell Kakashi-sensei that I'm sorry for not trusting him!"

Tsunade-sama patted me on the shoulder. I turned to see a small stream of silent tears running down her cheek. "Well said," she cried, "Let's get this over with…"

I nodded. The executioner led me to the trap door. She gingerly placed me right in the center, and tightened the noose around my neck. "Keep your head straight ahead and level. That's the best way to go," she whispered.

I nodded once again. The rope around my neck was like death's warm embrace. "Come sweet death, one last caress…" I muttered.

**So when you know that your time is close at hand**

**Maybe then you'll begin to understand,**

**Life down here is just a strange illusion**

The next five seconds crawled into eternity. I held my breath, and did as I was told. I looked straight ahead, straight towards where Naruto and Sakura stood. Even at this great distant, I could see the giant streams of tears running down Sakura's face. Naruto was crying too, but doing his best to try to comfort Sakura. "_I love you__ guys,_" I thought to myself as silent tears began to well up in my eyes.

The monk finished the last rights, and the executioner pulled the trap door trigger. The floor beneath me disappeared. There was a short fall, maybe of about 180 centimeters, and a sudden jerk. Everything faded to black, as I heard the monk's last words…

**Hallowed Be Thy Name**


End file.
